@article{Fu:2024:10.1038/s41467-024-49244-7,
author = {Fu, Z and Ciais, P and Wigneron, J-P and Gentine, P and Feldman, AF and Makowski, D and Viovy, N and Kemanian, AR and Goll, DS and Stoy, PC and Prentice, IC and Yakir, D and Liu, L and Ma, H and Li, X and Huang, Y and Yu, K and Zhu, P and Li, X and Zhu, Z and Lian, J and Smith, WK},
doi = {10.1038/s41467-024-49244-7},
journal = {Nat Commun},
title = {Global critical soil moisture thresholds of plant water stress.},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-49244-7},
volume = {15},
year = {2024}
}

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TY  - JOUR
AB  - During extensive periods without rain, known as dry-downs, decreasing soil moisture (SM) induces plant water stress at the point when it limits evapotranspiration, defining a critical SM threshold (θcrit). Better quantification of θcrit is needed for improving future projections of climate and water resources, food production, and ecosystem vulnerability. Here, we combine systematic satellite observations of the diurnal amplitude of land surface temperature (dLST) and SM during dry-downs, corroborated by in-situ data from flux towers, to generate the observation-based global map of θcrit. We find an average global θcrit of 0.19 m3/m3, varying from 0.12 m3/m3 in arid ecosystems to 0.26 m3/m3 in humid ecosystems. θcrit simulated by Earth System Models is overestimated in dry areas and underestimated in wet areas. The global observed pattern of θcrit reflects plant adaptation to soil available water and atmospheric demand. Using explainable machine learning, we show that aridity index, leaf area and soil texture are the most influential drivers. Moreover, we show that the annual fraction of days with water stress, when SM stays below θcrit, has increased in the past four decades. Our results have important implications for understanding the inception of water stress in models and identifying SM tipping points.
AU  - Fu,Z
AU  - Ciais,P
AU  - Wigneron,J-P
AU  - Gentine,P
AU  - Feldman,AF
AU  - Makowski,D
AU  - Viovy,N
AU  - Kemanian,AR
AU  - Goll,DS
AU  - Stoy,PC
AU  - Prentice,IC
AU  - Yakir,D
AU  - Liu,L
AU  - Ma,H
AU  - Li,X
AU  - Huang,Y
AU  - Yu,K
AU  - Zhu,P
AU  - Li,X
AU  - Zhu,Z
AU  - Lian,J
AU  - Smith,WK
DO  - 10.1038/s41467-024-49244-7
PY  - 2024///
TI  - Global critical soil moisture thresholds of plant water stress.
T2  - Nat Commun
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-49244-7
UR  - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38844502
VL  - 15
ER  - 

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